Expecting an adverse reaction from the West, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed two decrees on Monday recognizing "the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR)" and "the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR)" as independent and sovereign states.
Putin also signed the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance with the two "republics," a Kremlin statement said besides a security pact that is bound to elicit hostile reaction from the US.
Speaking at a ceremony held in the Kremlin, Putin said, "I consider it necessary to make a long overdue decision -- to immediately recognize the independence and sovereignty of the DPR and the LPR.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki has reacted initially stating that US President Joe Biden will soon sign an executive order banning Americans from doing business in the two Ukrainian regions that Russia has recognised as independent states.
On his part, Putin said, "Russia has done everything to preserve the territorial integrity of Ukraine" by fighting for the implementation of 2015 Minsk agreements, but all the efforts turned in vain as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is determined to expand in eastward to surround Russia in Europe.
Blamed Ukraine, NATO for current crisis
Bringing up the brewing Ukrainian crisis, Putin blamed the neighbour for shelling of settlements in Donbass repeatedly. He said the United States and NATO have ignored Russia's fundamental security concerns and forced the country "to take retaliatory measures to ensure its own security."
The West is trying to "blackmail" Russia further with sanctions, he pointed out and stressed that sanctions will continue regardless of the situation in Ukraine.
He said Russian armed forces would ensure peace as per the pacts signed in the two countries of the LPR and the DPR.
Meanwhile, French French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who are keen to bring reconciliation between Russia and the US over Ukraine, have "expressed their disappointment" with Putin's plan to recognize the LPR and the DPR. However, they showed readiness to continue contacts.
(With inputs from IANS)
